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Lawyers clash on attending New Law Year today
Mr Bernard Oundo, the president of the Uganda Law Society (ULS)
What you need to know:
- The lawyers said the Executive is interfering with judicial independence. They said, among others, President Museveni’s letter to the Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo to intervene in a matter of the then-Muslim sale of their prime properties including the land on which the national Mosque sits at Old Kampala, is an attack on judicial freedom.
Hours after a section of lawyers rallied their colleagues not to attend today’s opening of the New Law Year in Kampala in protest of what they called an attack on judicial independence, the Uganda Law Society leaders have said they will attend the event.
Mr Bernard Oundo, the president of the Uganda Law Society (ULS), a professional body that brings all lawyers together in the country, reasoned that attending the event provides an avenue for them to air out their grievances.
“We are not boycotting the New Law Year. We will attend. While we appreciate the concerns of those who suggest that we should boycott, we believe that the best alternative for us is to attend and speak to our challenges and also the ULS causes on the independence of the Judiciary and the rule of law in Uganda,” Mr Oundo said yesterday.
On Wednesday, eight lawyers issued a statement rallying their fellow like-minded colleagues not to attend the New Law Year.
The lawyers said the Executive is interfering with judicial independence. They said, among others, President Museveni’s letter to the Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo to intervene in a matter of the then-Muslim sale of their prime properties including the land on which the national Mosque sits at Old Kampala, is an attack on judicial freedom.
The lawyers also accused the ULS leaders of staying silent on the issue.
“We cannot have an independent Judiciary minus a robust and active Bar Association. ..and the first step is to heed our call to boycott the Judiciary’s invitation to their so-called ‘Opening of the Law Year’ event,” read in part the statement issued by the lawyers on Wednesday.
The lawyers include Phillip Karugaba, Sarah Kasande, Isaac Ssemakadde, Jude Byamukama, and Frank Kanduho.
The call for a boycott of the New Law Year followed the Tuesday ruling by the head of the Civil Division of the High Court, Justice Musa Ssekaana, who stopped ULS from holding an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday afternoon over the issue.
